Signal control



Jan. 5, 1943. D. l.. BU-row- 2,307,357

S IGNALv CONTROL Filed Oct. 9, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet l l @KM ma am@ Mcyzm,'l wfyt Jan. 5, 1943.

D.r BuTow SIGNAL CONTROL 3 ASheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 9, 1959 51e/w14anp 97 D. L. BUTOW SIGNAL CONTROL Jam. 5, 1943. v

Filed Oct. 9. 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 j @www Patented Jan. l', 12943UNiT'ED- STATES par .NT ors-iler g 3 Claims.

This invention relatesltoa signalcontrol, and moreparticularlyf toA adevice for controlling the operation of automobile signal lamps,indicating a contemplated direction of turn ofthe `automobile.

An. object of this invention; is to provide a signal controlmeans-arranged on the steeringmechanism of an automobile and operatedmanually to close the circuit of the lamps. Another object isto`provideA a device whichi will automatically openl the circuit off thelamps after a predetermined timeof operation. Stillv another object isto provide a device-in which the circuit remains closed withoutcontinuous manual engagement of theswitch. Yet another object is to`provide an auxiliary circuit for regulating and controlling theopeningof the main circuit; A further'object is to provide a device nwhich the lampcircuit remains closed, once a turnor the automobile isbegun', untilA after the turn is completed. Other features andadvantages will be apparentfrom the following specification anddrawings, in which- Fig. I isaaplan. viewrof the steering mechanism oftheautomobile, with the control. device attached; Fig. 2. is. a sideelevational: view of' the same parts; Fig. 3 is a. detail. view,partly.A in section and. partly inelevation, of the signal deviceattached` tothe steering mechanism Fig.. 4 isa planv view of the;control device with the cover removed therefrom; Fig. 5 is a. plan.View. of the control. device showing the. auxiliary switch; Fig. 6 is acircuiti diagram of thei preferred form of my invention; Fig. 7. a sideelevational; view. of amodicationof my; invention.; Fig. 8, isa detailview, partly in' elevation and partly in section,. of the modifiedcontrol device; Fig. 9 is a. sectional View taken along the. line 9 of.Fig.. 8:; and Fig. 10 is a circuit diagram of the. modiiication.

In the preferred form of my invention, as. de.- scribed herein, asteering wheel 20 and steering post 2| of an automobile provide amounting for the casings 22 and 23 of the controldevice. These casingsarev curved at points 24 and 25, respectively,A to t snugly about thesteering post, and are secured to each other by the bolts 26; Arms 21and 28, pivotally mounted on the casings 22 and 23, carry arcuatemembers 29 and 30; which preferably extend alongl the periphery of thesteering wheel 20.

These arcuate members 29 and 3U may be in the form of semi-circularrings, and are mounted adjacentv the` steering wheel 20, preferablybeneath. the wheel and within the circumference of the.` same. Becauseof the pivotal mounting of 55 thearms 2J. and `28; the arcuate members29: and 30 are movable in a plane transversetofthe plane ofthe steeringwheeL.

Referring particularly to Fig. 3, the casing 22 is provided withelectricah connections3 i! and. 32, the. -connection 3| leadingtothebattery of the automobile, and.f the :connection 33 leading tothe signallamp. To. the. connection 3|. is secured a contact segment 3.3 mountedVinthe bottom of the casingr22. A contact member v33 is providedwith al.sleeve' 35,. which. is. pivotally mountedV on the transverse rod 36. Acontact ball v351' is secured to a. shaft 38; whichv is slidably.received; within the sleeve 35.` A spring. 395. continuously urges theball 37 into. yielding engagement of the bottorn of thecasing 212;.

Since the ball3l is;used merelyl to provide contact, between. the two.electrical connections 3| and 32,. it is` obvious that many differentshapes and. forms. ofthe same could. be used. For example, a. roller-orysimilar contact surface could be attachedto the shaft 38..

Above the pivotal mounting at 365 the contact memberf34: is attached; toa dependent extension 40 of theyarm. 2l. Int-hismanner, verticalmovement of the ring 29 and arm. 2..'1 produces lateral movement of thecontact member 3.4i and ball 37, asindicated. in dotted: lines in Fig.3..

The casing 2 2 is provided; with a side opening 4l and withrecesses l2`and 43 in the bottom of the casing. A ridgeor raised portion 44 projectsupwardly between therecesses 42 and 43', permittingthe ball.. 3.1 to bemoved' from one recess to thel other only whensucient lateral pressureis exerted upon the ball to cause; the spring 33 to be compressed. Theopening lil permitsv moveiznent of thel dependent extensiongd. of thearm The casing22 may be cutaway at 45 to permit movement. ofv a bimetalstrip 43 of suitable size and thickness secured to the` casing by therivet 4-1. A spring. clip 4.3,. riveted to the casing at 49, yieldinglyengages the bimetal strip 46. The bimetal strip is s o arrangedthat theylower portion thereof will enga-ge the ball 3l when the same ismovedinto the; recess 43. Upon heating, the bimetalstrip 46. will bendor curl towards the ball 31 and urge the same from the recess. 43. For

the purpose of heating the bimetal strip, any

means which isy actuated by the. closing of the electrical circuit ofthe, switch may be provided.

A resistance element 50, preferably composed of a high resistance Wire,may be wound in the form of a coil around the bimetal strip 113 for thepurpose of heating the same and secured. thereto at 5l. The remainder ofthe coil 58 is insulated by lacquer or other suitable means from thebimetal strip 48. To the other end of the coil 58 is secured anelectrical connection 52 to a second switch 53.

As seen particularly in Fig. 5, the switch 53 includes a pair ofcontacts 54 and 55, the contact 54 being grounded at 56 (Fig. 3) and thecontact 55 being joined to the connection 52. The contact 54 is furtherprovided with a roller 51 or other means for engaging the cam surface 58on the rotatable portion of the steering post.

Fig. 6 shows a circuit diagram of the preferred embodiment of my controldevice. The battery 59 of the automobile is connected to the two contactsegments 33 and 33a. When the switches are closed, the current flowsthrough the two contact members 34 and 34EL to the lamps 98 and 9| tolight the same. At the same time the current flows from the segments 33and 33a to the bimetal strips 46 and 48a and through the coils 58 and58a to the switch 53.

By moving the rings 29 and 38 upwardly, the arms 21 and 28 are moved,and through the dependent extension 48 the contact member 34 is shiftedto the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, in which the ball isreceived within the recess 43. This closes the circuit of the lamp 98and also the circuit including the resistance element 58. The lamp isilluminated, indicating the appropriate turn of the automobile which iscontemplated.

The passage of the current through the coil 58 causes the bimetal strip48 to be heated after a predetermined length of time. By adjusting theamount of resistance of the coil 58, this time may be varied as desired.The heating of the bimetal strip 46 causes it to bend towards thecontact member 34 and urges the ball from the recess 43. When the ballreaches the ridge or raised portion in the bottom of the casing 22, thespring 39 urges it quickly into the recess 42, thus quickly breaking thecontact. In the same manner, the spring 38 acts to urge the ball intothe recess 43 when the circuit is being closed. The spring 48 aids thebimetal strip in urging the ball 31 from the recess 43.

The switch 53 is normally closed, since the cam 58 holds the contact 54in engagement with the contact 55. However, when the steering wheel isturned, the cam 58 moves from engagement with the roller 51, permittingthe contact 54 to move laterally away from the contact 55, opening thecircuit of the resistance element 58. While the wheel is turned and thisauxiliary circuit is open, the resistance element 50 will not be heated,and the contact member will remain in engagement with the segment 33.

The movement of the steering wheel to its original position will closethe switch 53 and permit the heating of the resistance element 58 tocontinue. Thus, when the automobile wheels are turned, the heating ofthe resistance element will be stopped, and the signal lamp will remainon until a predetermined time after the turn is completed and the wheelsreturned to their original position. This feature is extremely usefulwhen the automobile is operated in heavy tramo, since on many occasionsit is necessary to a driver to stop after reaching a corner andpartially turning the wheels. By means of this feature of construction,the signal lamp is caused to remain in operation until after the turn iscompleted, even though the stop may be for a considerable period oftime. v- A A modification of my invention is shown in Figs. '7 to 10. Inthis modification, the steering Wheel 28 and steering post 2| of theautomobile support casings 88 and 6| of the control device, the twocasings being joined by the bolt GIB. Arms 62 and 63 are joined to abase member 64, being pivotally attached thereto at 65 and 66. The basemember 84 is secured to the casings 68 and 6l. To the arms 82 and 83 arepivotally attached dependent arms 61 and 88.

A dependent extension 18 is pivotally joined to the arm 61 by the pivot69. From this extension 18 a lateral projection 1| extends into thecasing. The lower end of the extension 18 serves as a guide 12, movingwithin the recess 13 and casing 68. The projection 1| carries a contactmember 14 secured thereto but insulated from the projection by thebushing 15.

An electrical connection 16 from the battery of the automobile is joinedto the contact member 14 in any suitable manner. If desired, a springconnection may be used in order to avoid movement of the wireconnection. The contact member 14 is provided with a ball'11, which maybe raised and lowered by movement of the arm 61 and extension 18. Aconnection 18 joins the signal lamp to the pin 19 and the spring contactstrip 88, the connection passing into the casing through the opening 8|.

A pair of bimetal strips 82 and 83 are provided with resistance elementcoils 84 and 84a joined together by the connection 85. The coil 84 isattached to the bimetal strip 82 at 86. The end of the coil 84a joins aconnection 81 to the auxiliary switch 88 similar in character to theswitch 53 described in connection with the preferred embodiment. Theswitch 88 is grounded by the wire 89.

Although a pair of bimetal strips are shown and described, it isapparent that any suitable and convenient member may be used. Thuseither a single strip or a large number of strips may be provided forthis purpose.

The operation of the modification of my invention is similar to that ofthe preferred embodiment. The arms 52 and 63 are connected to rings suchas the rings 29 and 38 shown in Fig. 1. When the ring 29 is movedupwardly, the movement of the dependent arm 61 and extension 18 causesthe ball 11 to be brought into engagement with the spring contact 88,closing the circuit to the signal lamp 92. At the same time the bimetalstrips 82 and 83 grip the ball 11, retaining it in such position ofengagement.

The contact of the bimetal strips with the ball 11 permits current to owthrough the strips, the coils 84 and 84a, and the switch 88. I'hepassage of the current through the coils 84 and 84a heats the coils andthe bimetal strips which they engage. When the bimetal strips areheated, they bend outwardly away from the ball 11, permitting the ballto move downwardly out of engagement With the spring contact 88, thusbreaking the circuit of the lamp 92. The operation of the switch 88 isthe same as that of the switch 53 in the preferred embodiment.

The mechanism within the casing 6l operates in the same manner as thatwithin the casing 68, to light the signal lamp 93.

This modified form of my invention permits the manual operation of therings adjacent the steering wheel to close the circuit and light theappropriate signal lamp. At the same time an automatic-breakingoropening of th'e'crcuit is provided for a predetermined time after theclosing of the circuit.

Both forms of my invention may be used to operate signal lamps for anydesired purpose. My invention is, of course, particularly adapted foruse with automobile signal lamps by which the driver of the automobilecan indicate a contemplated turn. However, it may also be used for theoperation of an automobile stop light by which an intention to stop maybe indicated before the brakes are applied or the actual slowing downbegun,

While there are shown and described certain embodiments of theinvention, it is to be understood that it is capable of manymodications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement maybe made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdisclosed in the appended claims, in which it is intended to claim allnovelty inherent in the invention as broadly as permissible, in view ofthe prior art.

I claim:

2. In a device of the character described for controlling the operationof automobile signal lamps, a lamp circuit, a second electrical circuit,switch means for opening and closing both of said circuits, said switchmeans being arranged to act simultaneously in both circuits,manuallyoperable means for actuating said switch means to close saidcircuits, thermostat means in said second electrical circuit foractuating the switch means to open both circuits a predetermined timeafter the closing of the thermostat circuit, and switch means in saidsecond circuit only, for .Opening and closing the same whereby theythermostat means is rendered inoperative when .the circuit is open,said last-mentioned switch means being actuated by the steeringmechanism l. In a device of the character described for ond circuit foractuating said bimetal means a` predetermined time after the closing ofsaid circuits, said element being heated by the flow of current throughsaid second circuit, a switch in said second circuit only, for openingand closing said second circuit independently of the lamp circuitwhereby the said element is heated only when the switch is closed, andmeans associated with the steering wheel of the automobile forcontrolling the opening and closing of said lastmentioned switch, saidswitch being open when the wheels of the automobile are turned to eitherside and being closed by the return of the wheels to forwardly alignedposition.

I of the automobile, said lamp circuit when closed remaining inoperation until the circuit of the thermostat has been closed for apredetermined length of time.

3. In a device of the character described for controlling the operationlof automobile signal lamps, a lamp circuit, a second electricalcircuit, switch means for opening and closing both of said circuits,said switch means being arranged to act simultaneously in both circuits,manually-operable means for actuating said switch means to close saidcircuits, thermo- ,stat means in said second electrical circuit Vforactuating said switch means a predetermined time after the closing ofthe second circuit to open both circuits, switch means in the circuit ofsaid thermostat only, for opening and closing the circuit independentlyof the lamp circuit whereby said thermostat means is renderedinoperative when the circuit thereof is open and is rendered operativeby the closing thereof, and means associated with the steering mechanismof the automobile for controlling the operation of said last-mentionedswitch means, said switch means being arranged to open the secondelectrical circuit when the wheels of the automobile are turned toeither side and to close the same circuit when the wheels are returnedto `forwardly-aligned position.

DOUGLAS L. BUTOW.

